"Good morning, Clarisse." I said, smiling at my newest student.

"Good morning, Miss. Roths." She chirped smiling up at me with large brown doe eyes.

"Clarisse, I've told you. Miss. Roths was my mother. My name is Melinda." I patronized the young girl.

"Sorry, I forgot." She frowned slightly.

This was why she was my favorite student. All the others had big mouths and egos to match, plus a daddy to pay for everything they needed. Clarisse was very modest and would often fall into a slight depression when she felt she wasn't good enough. Something that happened often when the rich girls berated her about how little her parents had.

"Don't worry about it. Now, hows about we get started?"

"Alright, what would you like me to do first?" She asked, brightening at the idea.

"Start by warming up like I showed you yesterday, then you can show me what pieces of the dance you have down." I said.

She nodded and walked to the other end of the room, stretching out her muscles at the barre

After stretching she turned back to me.

"You know what to do. Leap, twirl, spin to your hearts content. Feel for any muscles that are still tight." I told her.

She smiled at my odd antics, but complied, heading to the corner and leaping across the floor.

I should have known from her first landing something wasn't right. She wasn't landing nearly as graceful as she had before.

'She's not paying attention to her feet.' I thought, but before I could vocalize the thought, I heard a sickening snap and she crumpled to the floor.

"Clarisse!" I shouted, crossing the floor quickly to where she lay crying in pain.

"Let me see, dear." I insisted, gingerly dragging her leg toward me. I knew from past experience not to remove her toe shoe, it could make the damage worse, but I didn't need to. From here I could tell it was broken.

"Come, we must get you to the hospital." I said, my voice soothing and calm.

Being the tiny thing she was, it wasn't hard for me to get her out to the car and buckled up in the front seat.

"Try not to move that ankle." I advised, putting the car in drive and racing to the hospital.

The Forks, Washington hospital is tiny, as is expected for such a tiny town. With as few people here as there are, I wasn't the least bit surprised when they immediately rushed us back.

"The doctor will be with you in a moment." A kind eyed nurse said.

"Thank you." I replied, smiling warmly at her before turning to look at Clarisse.

Her eyes were red and puffy from crying and I could tell she was trying not to look at her ankle.

"It's going to be alright, Clarisse." I whispered.

She opened her mouth to respond when a light voice asked,

"And what do we have here?"

I turned to look at the doctor, and almost stopped short. His hair was a lovely gold color that seemed to be the exact same shade as his eyes. He was pale and devastatingly handsome, but I quickly regained control.

I knew all about devastatingly good looking men. They were no good.

"She was at dance class, warming up, and she landed wrong. I'm fairly certain her ankle is broken." I responded, refusing to look at this man's gold orbs.

"Well," he paused to look at her chart, "Clarisse, let's have a look."

Gingerly, he reached out to examine her ankle. The instant his hand touched her skin, she hissed slightly.

"Does this hurt?" he asked, looking slightly worried.

"No, your hand is awfully cold." She whispered, embarrassed.

"Ah, yes. Working in a place like this does that to you." He laughed, continuing his examination.

"Well, Mrs.," he paused looking at me expectantly.

"Miss. Roths." I responded, still not looking him in the eye.

"Miss. Roths, I must say you were correct. I need x-rays to be certain on where the break is, but her ankle is definitely broken."

I saw fear flicker through Clarisse's eyes, but she hid it quickly by looking down at the bed. I knew what she feared. She knew that if the break was awful and the circumstances correct, she would never dance again.

"Doctor, may I have a word?" I asked.

"Please, call me Carlisle. Yes, of course."

We walked a ways before I turned to this odd man.

"Will she be able to dance again?" I knew the fear I saw in Clarisse's eyes was evident on my face, but I didn't care. If she couldn't dance, it would break my heart almost as much as it would break hers.

"I can't be sure. With a break like that, it will take a lot of therapy and a lot of money. In my experience, most girls don't come back from something like that, but from the look on both your faces I can tell she might be an exception. She's obviously got the heart to do it, and you've got the patience." He smiled at me.

'He's sweet and caring and oh so.. No Melinda, don't go there.' I shook myself from my thoughts.

"Her parents won't have the money." I regretted the words, but it was the truth. I knew how much the therapy would cost and I knew it was a sum way out of there range.

Then it hit me. I did. My mother had left me everything when she died.

"But I do. Doctor, I mean Carlisle, if I pay for everything, here and now, will you hold off on telling her parents until all transactions go through?" I knew it was risky, he could lose his job, but I had to try.

He looked at me for a moment, his expressions changing from one to the next. I knew what I looked like, a little girl begging for a toy or candy, but I was going to help Clarisse in any way I could.

"Alright, listen. If I do this, she stays with you until all the transactions go through. You can't tell anyone." He whispered.

"Of course! Thank you so much, but I do have one more question. Why are you helping us?" I know the whole expression about not looking a gift horse in the mouth, but I couldn't help myself.

Men like him were supposed to be cruel and stuck up and in it for themselves.

"When I decided I wanted to become a doctor, it wasn't for the money and it wasn't for myself. I became a doctor to help people." He smiled at me.

I was shell shocked to say the least. Gorgeous, obviously wealthy, calm, smart, caring, and selfless, was this guy perfect?

'No, Melinda. There is always a catch. Don't set yourself up again.' My mind hissed, but no matter how my mind tried, I knew in the end it would be no use.

This man was already melting my heart.

"Excuse me." I mumbled. I had to get away from him. I couldn't let his perfect act win me over. Never again.

I raced back to Clarisse's room, leaving Carlisle slightly shocked.

"What did he say?" were Clarisse's first words when I walked in.

"He said, that if you've got the heart and I've got the patience you might just dance again. Now listen to me. It's going to take a lot of physical therapy, a lot of time, and probably hurt a lot, but I'm in if you are." I say the hope die in her eyes half way through my speech.

"It's useless. My family doesn't have the money for that." Her voice was resigned, like she'd already accepted the fact that she would never dance again.

"Don't worry about the money. Right now, I need you to call your parents and tell them that you're staying with me for a few days."

She looked at me, confusion written on her face.

"Clarisse, you only have to stay for a few days, till the transactions go through and your parents can't refuse my money." I rephrased, watching as her face lit up like a little girl in a candy store.

"Oh, thank you! I don't know how I'll ever repay you!" she screamed, throwing her arms around my neck and squeezing.

"You'll repay me by not stopping until your back on that floor dancing like a pro." I whispered hugging her back.

"You make a wonderful teacher." A honey like voice said.

I didn't want to turn around. I didn't want to see his face, that god like face I would fall so hard for, but I had no choice.

"Thank you. You make a wonderful doctor." I replied, doing my best to act like I wasn't having a panic attack.

I didn't see the doctor again until three days later, when he showed up at the studio, flowers in one hand and a letter in the other.

I let him in and took him upstairs to my loft above the studio.

Clarisse was looking out the window, a book in her lap and blankets covering her large cast.

"How are you, Clarisse?" he asked.

She turned, surprised by the sudden interruption, but smiled when she saw the doctor.

"I'm well." She responded.

"I have good news. For starters, with your break you will be able to dance again with therapy and time. Also, this," he held up the letter, "is the final transaction for all payments needed for your therapy and medical attention now and in the future."

Clarisse squealed in delight, barely even registering the flowers he handed her.

"Miss. Roths, a word?" he asked.

I nodded and led him to the kitchen, leaving Clarisse to bask in her happiness.

"Yes, Doctor Cullen?" I asked, glad that I'd finally figured out his last name.

"I don't mean to be forward or rude, but I can't help but get the feeling you don't like me very much." He eyed me, trying to hide a smirk.

"I don't know what you mean," he stopped me from ranting with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, alright. It's not necessarily you I don't like. It's you type. Those people who are so, so perfect. There's always a catch with perfect people trust me. I've had my fair share of time with them."

"I'm far from perfect, Miss. Roths." His voice was clipped and I looked up at his face, startled.

He looked upset, maybe more with himself than me.

"I beg to differ. You're nice, caring, gentle, smart, handsome, obviously wealthy, and selfless." I was angry to, but not at him. At myself for letting him get to me.

"You're wrong, Miss. Roths. More wrong than you will ever know." He turned on his heel and walked out of the kitchen.

I listened as he said very pleasant goodbyes to Clarisse and left the loft.

Clarisse came into the kitchen and looked me over.

"Melinda, are you all right?" she asked.

I merely nodded and said,

"I think I'll retire early tonight."

She watched me go, but I didn't notice, I was too busy trying to figure out how on earth I could be so wrong.

I kept myself away from the hospital for a few days, but I eventually gave into the temptation.

I got lucky and showed up on an uneventful day, so the nurse let me back to Dr. Cullen's office.

I didn't even bother knocking, though I did peer through the window to make sure hes wasn't busy, I just walked right in.

"Alright, I'm done going round and round in my head trying to figure out what in the world you were talking about, so spill." I knew I looked childish, but I didn't care. I was tired of this man haunting my thoughts.

"It's not that simple, Miss. Roths." He began, obviously taken aback by my outburst.

"Oh to hell with simple. I want the truth, no matter how scary it may be."

I watched, captivated as his honey eyes darkened to a deep amber color, when the stories my mother told me as a girl swirled around my mind.

"There are monsters here in Forks, my sweet Melinda. Creatures of the night with skin pale as the moon and ice cold. They appear perfect to the human eye, but it is a scam. It makes us feel comfortable around them. It draws us in. They are monsters, Melinda. Vampires."

"Vampires." I hadn't meant for the word to slip, but when it did his reaction was immediate.

"What did you say?" he looked worried, almost scared.

And then all the pieces clicked. He was pale, cold, inhumanly perfect, he was obviously affected by the word.

"That's why you, oh." I whispered.

"Now, you see. I am not perfect, and I never will be." He looked tense, like he was waiting for me to run screaming down the hall, and to be honest, I was to.

But something held me fast, something didn't quite fit.

"Your eyes, they aren't the right color." I whispered, looking into his now amber orbs.

"A diet of animals does that to them." He whispered, still looking at me with worry.

"You aren't a monster than." I said, looking at him defiantly.

"Miss. Roths, I am.."

"No, if you were a monster you would kill people. The fact that you are a doctor and you kill animals rather than humans by choice shows that you aren't a monster. Now, I'm going to tell you the same thing I tell my students. Miss. Roths was my mother. I am Melinda." I grinned at him.

I never wanted to fall for him, but when I did I excepted the truth. We became friends, but it was never anything more until the night of Clarisse's first recital after her broken ankle.

After everything was said and done, and tears stopped falling, he caught me at my car and he proposed.

I said yes, but there was a catch.

He told me there always was with perfect people, but he asked what it was none the less.

"Carlisle, I want you to turn me into a vampire."

Me: This was a one shot for Rainbow Haired Girl, I might make it a two shot, not sure. I hope you like it! R&R